Fiorentina v AC Milan, Serie A 2024/25: the pre-match press conference
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00:00Good afternoon everyone, welcome along to the pre-match press conference on the eve
00:05of Fiorentina Milan, we'll start with Milan TV, thanks Nicola, good afternoon Gaffer.
00:11From the derby onwards, regardless of the loftest cheek, Morata, team selection in Leverkusen,
00:19you've always picked the same side.
00:23Do you want to try and establish the team's identity and the way that you play so that
00:29the other players in the squad, when they come in, over the course of the season, they'll
00:34be able to step into a very well-oiled machine, is that the case?
00:41Yes, continuity is important at this moment in time, and when we'll have a few more days
00:48to recover some players, I think if the team are playing well, if the team are improving,
00:58it's important to try and have as many players available for selection as possible.
01:04It's not because I don't trust the other players, Ruben Loftus-Cheek came in, he had a good
01:09performance, Samuel Chukwese has always looked good when he's come off the bench, they're
01:16working well on the training ground, but I do believe at this moment in time, it's important
01:26to have these foundations which can uphold the team's growth at this moment in time.
01:36From the September to the October international break, there are four games, if Milan were
01:42to get maximum points tomorrow, that would be four wins from four in Serie A, how important
01:47would that be, not only in terms of your league position, but also in terms of the mindset
01:52of the players.
01:54Looks like the players are still angry for the Leverkusen defeat, and that's probably
01:58a good feeling for you who's coaching this team.
02:03Yes, I have to say that's what I feel as well, sure, we didn't beat Leverkusen, the squad
02:15of players were disappointed and angry, but what I have felt this week are very good vibes,
02:26once again the team have worked well in training, and we want to win.
02:33We know that it's always very difficult, there are always very challenging matches at Fiorentina,
02:38they have a wonderful team, traditionally it's very difficult for Milan to go to Florence
02:43and win, but I think we are ready to produce a good performance, and of course we want
02:52to win the game.
02:53My second question is, could you talk us through Alvaro Morata's fitness levels, has he recovered
03:05to start the game, and as part of the rotation policy, could Pavlovic come in, he's struggling
03:15perhaps with the fact that he has to come on in the second half.
03:19Alvaro Morata is fit, he is ready to start, he will start tomorrow because he's fit, as
03:25for Pavlovic, I think, bouncing back to the question that you asked, I think it is important
03:42to have stability defensively, and I think both Matteo Gabbia and Fico Tomori have produced
03:53some excellent performances, and I think Pavlovic now needs to keep working hard, because
04:01he will get some opportunities, but at the moment, I think the centre-back pairing are
04:11performing well, and I think it's important to press ahead with that pairing.
04:19Rai, two questions, first, I'll be quick.
04:33Gabbia is having a great run of form, and he's been rewarded with his first call-up
04:40for the Italy national team, it's very important for him, isn't it?
04:43I'm the Milan head coach, and I don't want to influence Luciano Spalletti, but I think
04:52that was the right call, Matteo Gabbia is on excellent form, and I think it's only right
04:59that he's called up for the national team.
05:03I'm delighted, because Gabbia is a consummate professional, and if there is a player that
05:09deserves to be called up, it's Gabbia.
05:11And a more general question about Serie A season, are you concerned by Napoli, they're
05:18not in Europe, and they're building up a lead?
05:24There's so much to play for, there are a number of top teams that all want the same things
05:31as Milan.
05:33I don't want to talk about other teams, but it's only natural that Napoli have an advantage,
05:43they have the edge in not being involved in the Champions or Europa League, they have
05:48a full week to prepare their matches, it's a big advantage for Napoli, they've got a
05:54top coach, they've got a good team, and they've got more time to work.
06:00I don't want to add any pressure to Napoli, it is the truth, they are a very strong candidate
06:05to win the Scudetto in my eyes.
06:07Hi Gaffer, a question, do you have an issue away from home?
06:15Milan have beaten Inter, Inter were the home team there, but it didn't go well at Parma,
06:25you came back to draw at Lazio and you've lost at Leverkusen, I'd like to ask, in order
06:30to have the same record that you do at San Siro, where the team has great authority,
06:35is this a real test as well in Florence to see whether you're an ambitious enough side
06:40can actually play the same way and get the same points, both on their travels as they
06:45do at home?
06:46It doesn't matter for us whether we play at San Siro or we play on our travels, our ambition
06:53is always to win the match, we always prepare our games to try and win them.
07:01I think it will be important tomorrow to win the game, it's not because it's away from
07:06home, it's because it's our next game, we need to kick on from what we're producing
07:09in Serie A, but it is a good opportunity to show that all matches are the same for us,
07:17whether they're home or away, we need to have the same ambition, the same approach and attitude
07:23to win the game.
07:31So far Milan have mixed up very positive performances with negative displays and very negative displays
07:39at times, you've been lacking a middle ground if you will, a sort of balance, I saw that
07:46as well in the Leverkusen game, a disappointing first half and a terrific second period performance
07:53What is the real Milan side or is Milan both of these sides and how can you make the real
07:59Milan only the strong side?
08:01It's not easy to answer this question, we played against Bayer Leverkusen and they're
08:07a different team, but I think they're one of the best teams in Europe at the moment.
08:21I think we're in the midst of a period of growth, just because we beat Lecce and Inter
08:34doesn't mean that I said that the team were on the up, but I did say that we need to keep
08:42progressing and keep improving, what I currently feel is the same, the team is improving, the
08:47team is on the up, but we have a lot to improve upon.
08:57I don't think we're close to seeing the real Milan side at the moment, we have to do more,
09:06sure, what I want to see is a team that is closer to what we produced in the second half
09:12against Leverkusen, but we also need to realise that every game is different, if we can be
09:24the same team tomorrow as we were in the second half against Bayer Leverkusen and we have
09:32the same approach, then maybe the way we play might be different, because the positional
09:40play was very important against Leverkusen, whereas tomorrow Fiorentina will mark 11 against
09:4711 all over the pitch, it will be different, but what's important for me to feel is that
09:52the team is improving, we are on the up.
09:55Good afternoon, I wanted to ask you about the development of Yusuf Ofanar, because ever
10:04since he's got fit, Milan have had a lot more balance compared with the past, how important
10:12is this player for you and given how many games you have coming thick and fast, is he
10:16already irreplaceable, is there no one else that could step in for him?
10:22He's a very important player for us, as you correctly said, he's learning and he's getting
10:29better on a daily basis.
10:38I think Ofanar also had a bit of time to settle, because Liga is very different to Serie A,
10:46he's playing in a different position.
10:52In recent seasons Ofanar wasn't playing as a defensive midfielder like he does here,
10:57he was playing a bit further forward.
11:04It will take time for him to settle into that role, but I think this player in this shape
11:12is arguably the most important player of the lot, and just as Ofanar is getting better,
11:22so the team becomes better as a result, because players like him in that role, they're the
11:30engine of the team.
11:32If they work well, the team has a greater chance of playing well, the zone.
11:40Good afternoon Gaffer, I'd like to ask you a question that a number of Milan fans are
11:47wondering.
11:48Excellent form in Serie A, but there are still fitness concerns about Davide Calabria and
11:54Emerson Royale is still not 100%.
11:57Were you right to actually send Pierre Calullo out on loan to a rival?
12:04It's a question that a lot of people are asking, because Calullo can play both right-back and
12:10centre-back.
12:12I don't speak about players that aren't at the club, I only speak about my own players.
12:17Calullo is not at the club, but I mustn't forget that it was the players' decision.
12:27I don't think there's any point in drawing comparisons between whether the players we
12:33have here are better than players at rival clubs.
12:36I think what matters at the moment are the players that I have here.
12:39Should I have an update on Davide Calabria, because we haven't seen him available for
12:42selection for a long time now?
12:51Calabria has encountered some issues, he started with a calf injury, and because he wanted
12:58to play, he tried to compensate, and then he's had an issue on the other leg and the
13:07knee and the calf.
13:11So he's trying to come back, but he has had these issues and he can't play at the moment.
13:24Franco Ordine, good afternoon.
13:34Given that you are converting Fofana into a deeper role, you said that he used to play
13:40in a more advanced position, could you do something similar with Younis Moussa?
13:49We are working with Moussa in order to do exactly that, for him to play in that position.
14:00Moussa is training on that particular role, because with the injury to Ben Asser, we don't
14:11have any other players that can play in that role.
14:19And given that we're only playing with Fofana, I think Younis Moussa is the only other player
14:22that could play in that position, but we are working on that.
14:29The difference is that Fofana is a passing defensive midfielder, whereas Younis Moussa
14:37is more of a dribbling defensive midfielder, but we are working so that Moussa can play
14:45that role.
14:46The second question is as follows, you're picking basically the same starting eleven
14:52or twelve players, game in, game out, but given that after the October international
15:00break you'll have a very busy run of matches, would it not be a time to try and get other
15:05players like Chukwese, Okafor, et al., all ready to go?
15:11We'll see.
15:12We'll see how the team are playing, we'll see how the players are performing.
15:16At the moment, I think it's important to have that continuity in terms of team selection.
15:21We'll see.
15:23I've got faith in all of the players.
15:30I know that we have a number of games after the international break and we'll need all
15:34of our players.
15:35At this moment in time, I think it's important for the team to play with the same players.
15:43Good afternoon, Paolo, you're talking to us about team selection and tactics, but does
15:55this team have the right character?
15:58The way that you reacted at Leverkusen was more a rageful one, but when you went out
16:04there, did the team have the character and personality to actually impose the game on
16:09the opposition as you would like to?
16:13I don't think it was an issue of character or attitude.
16:20I think Leverkusen were deservedly on top.
16:26I think the team defended well.
16:30We had a good approach.
16:31We stuck together defensively.
16:33We didn't build out well from the back and we made some wrong decisions because we could
16:37have shown greater quality in those areas, but I think the team did show character from
16:44the first minute to the last.
16:50It wasn't an issue of attitude or character.
16:53It was a tough game because Leverkusen are a top side.
17:01They have an identity which is easy to spot, but very difficult to counteract.
17:09I think my players did show a lot of character.
17:12Good afternoon, Gaffer.
17:14Speaking about character, there's one player above all that seems to have more than anyone
17:18else or a stronger character than the others, which is Mike Maignan.
17:23His performances have improved and he's got back to his Scudetto winning form.
17:28How much has he helped you both in the dressing room and on the pitch and what do you fear
17:33about the Fiorentina game most tomorrow night?
17:39Right from day one when I first joined the club, Mike Maignan has always been an important
17:44player.
17:46He's one of the dressing room leaders.
17:50He's working well.
17:54He's always very level-headed, however the team is doing, and I think he is one of the
18:00leaders in the dressing room.
18:07In general terms, I think it will be a tough game, first and foremost because Fiorentina
18:11have quality, they've got good players, and they also tend to play man against man all
18:19over the pitch.
18:28And this does change the way that you approach the opposition.
18:32It's not easy to do so.
18:36We're going from a game where I said it was important to have positional play and we're
18:41stepping into a game where there are other facets which will become key because Fiorentina
18:46are a strong side defensively, they're aggressive, they man mark all over the pitch, and maybe
18:54if we don't do things well, then we might have a few more issues against this style
19:02of defending.
19:04But in general terms, I think it will be a difficult game.
19:07Sport Italia.
19:08Hi Gaffer.
19:09Good afternoon.
19:10You always talk about positional play.
19:15There are two concepts that you've always tended to, which is moving the ball slowly
19:23up the pitch, trying to overload on one side or finding the half spaces.
19:28Are those the things you think that aren't working at the moment, and if so, why?
19:37I think I'm constantly stressing the same point, I'm saying the same things, but it's
19:42the truth.
19:47What I think is that ever since I came to Milan, it's always been very easy to understand
19:56that, and as I said, I'd like to come back and say once again I'm not saying that the
20:02team is better, it's different, it's completely different, and that is not a criticism towards
20:08my predecessor or what happened in the past, it's just a statement that things are different
20:12now, defensively, and also offensively.
20:19This team played in a very individual style of play, and changing this is difficult.
20:28It is difficult.
20:31It's been difficult, we're working day in, day out to try and change things.
20:37Because it's what I believe in, it's what I believe, I'm not saying that it's better,
20:44but it's better for me because it's what I believe in, but it's not easy, it's not easy.
20:55We need to understand that Rome wasn't built in a day, it will take time, we need to work
21:05on it on training, we need the players to figure out what sort of match this is, when
21:10the key moments arise in the game, what are the important phases of the game, and of course
21:19it is difficult to change, but we are changing.
21:26What pleased me the most was the fact that in the second half against Bayer Leverkusen
21:32we played positional football, which was very good, in my opinion.
21:38Gaffer, there's one player who spoke about you this morning, Santiago Jimenez of Feyenoord,
21:45who is talking about you, Milan.
21:53He claims that the club went in for him on deadline day, but he said the option is still
21:58open.
21:59Do you like him as a player?
22:01Yes, I like him, but I prefer Tiami Ibrahim and Alvaro Morata.
22:11Good afternoon, Gaffer.
22:13I apologise, it was very cold in Leverkusen.
22:16Oh, you were there singing, weren't you?
22:21Yes, I had a nice karaoke session in Portuguese.
22:26I want to ask you this, with regards to the progress your Milan side are making, starting
22:31with that game against Fiorentina, what did you and the team learn from the Leverkusen
22:38game?
22:39What have you retained from that match?
22:45It might not be important to you guys, but for me as a coach it's important to actually
22:51grasp what goes on in a match, and what is difficult, because matches are one way here
23:08domestically, and it's not only me saying that, everyone is saying that in other leagues
23:13as well.
23:15We don't have games of this standard domestically, so to say to my players that positional play
23:24is important, and was important, and we need to keep improving on that, but now we're playing
23:32a game where positional play is not important, because when you come up against a team that
23:41man marks all over the pitch, other things become important.
23:44I don't want to say what I'm telling the players at the moment, when we take on a team that
23:51plays 11 against 11 all over the pitch, but we're talking about something which is not
23:57strictly linked with positional play, and it's not easy to change that, and we only
24:01have that in Italy, this 11 v 11 all over the pitch, because in other leagues there
24:08aren't any teams that play 11 against 11 all over the pitch.
24:13I think Declan Rice, when he played against Atalanta, said exactly the same thing.
24:23Why did Bayer Leverkusen struggle so much against Atalanta?
24:28Because they're not used to playing that way in Germany.
24:34So, imagine Bayer Leverkusen, an entire season playing positional play, space, space, space,
24:47and then they get to the final week of the season, and you need to say to the players,
24:53no, no, we now need to overhaul everything.
24:56It's not easy, it's not easy.
24:58In the players' minds, these become mechanised, and it's not easy to change these mechanisms.
25:05And look what happened.
25:07You can't change things over the course of four days on the training ground.
25:10Here in Italy, we need to change in the space of two days.
25:15We play against Udinese, who play positional play, they like playing with space.
25:23Then we come up against Fiorentina, then we play against a team that's positional play,
25:27then we're up against Atalanta.
25:29Changing this for a coach and the players is not easy at all.
25:34It's not easy.
25:36And we only have that here in Italy.
25:39We don't have that in England or France.
25:42There might be one team doing it, but 95% of the teams pretty much play the same way.
25:57Earlier on, you said that you liked Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata.
26:03I wanted to ask you whether you're going to press ahead with two strikers
26:07and whether Okafor might be able to step in for Morata at times.
26:12I don't know if it's a long-term strategy.
26:16For the next game, yes, we'll see after that.
26:21But the way we're doing things at the moment with Alvaro Morata
26:27as a false 10 or a false 9, if you will,
26:32I think it would be difficult for Okafor to play that same position.
26:38I don't think Okafor has the skill set to play that position.
26:41Kanta.
26:42Good afternoon, Gaffer.
26:44Tomorrow you're up against Yassine Adli,
26:48who had a great relationship with the fan base.
26:52He's winning over Raffaele Palladino.
26:54He got a golden assist in the conference league.
26:56What sort of player is he?
26:58No, I mustn't speak about players from other teams even now.
27:02When he was here, and I'm talking about when Yassine Adli was at the club,
27:15Yassine was a player that I liked.
27:18He had certain qualities and attributes that I liked.
27:23But I understand that it was difficult for him to play here.
27:29He realised that on his own.
27:31He's now playing for another team.
27:37I like the fact that he's performing well,
27:39but I expect that he won't do well tomorrow.
27:45Bressi.
27:47Good afternoon, Gaffer.
27:49Two very quick things.
27:50First, why do you think there is this big difference
27:56in terms of the way people have seen the performance in Leverkusen?
28:00There are those that are very happy with Milan's display,
28:02and then there are those who are actually significantly criticising Milan's performance.
28:07How do you explain that?
28:10No, I didn't understand the first question.
28:13There are some people who are criticising Milan for their performance at Leverkusen.
28:17They don't think it was a good performance.
28:20I can already answer that question.
28:22It doesn't matter to me.
28:25Criticism has never really mattered to me.
28:28I haven't seen anything.
28:30I haven't read anything.
28:31It doesn't matter.
28:32Given the injuries you have with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Luka Jovic out,
28:36is this now the right time to actually bring in some players from Milan Futuro,
28:41the under-23 side, because maybe your squad is a little bit short?
28:45Yes.
28:47Kevin Zeroli, Francisco Camarda and Alex Jimenez are in the matchday squad.
28:54They'll be with us.
28:56It is time to bring the kids with us.
28:59They've been working well with us on the training ground.
29:01Thank you very much, everyone.